New research finds some bosses thrive on abusive behavior.
“We have been studying abusive behavior in the workplace for 20 years, and we have known it always has bad outcomes for performance and productivity,” says Szu-Han (Joanna) Lin, a professor in management in the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.
“But we also know that people keep doing it. I think we assumed that if managers engage in these behaviors, they’d feel bad, and it would always have a negative effect on them. But that’s not the case.”
While organizational psychologists have been interested in bad bosses for decades, most research focused on how workplace abuse affects employees and their performance. Other research focused on bosses who snap at employees due to stress or exhaustion—but not those who actively choose to engage in abusive behavior.
The study was inspired in part by episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, a reality show that features angry British chef Gordon Ramsay yelling at underlings for 45 minutes at a time.
“I was watching season after season, and I thought, ‘Huh? I wonder why he acts like that,'” Lin says.
“That really triggered my interest. I feel like most research focuses on how this type of behavior influences followers. But I wanted to know about the leaders. There must be something in it for them if they keep acting like this.”
The researchers surveyed a diverse group of 100 supervisors from many fields, asking if and why they engaged in abusive behavior.
The bosses were surprisingly forthcoming and candid in the open-ended questionnaires. Some reported yelling at employees when they were burned out or overwhelmed. But a significant number admitted to abusing employees to get employees to follow orders or to show who was in charge.
Supervisors who engaged in this abusive behavior came from a variety of industries, including manufacturing and construction, nursing, and sales.
A second study surveyed 249 supervisors daily for 15 days, asking whether they abused their employees that day, what was happening before the abuse, and how they felt afterward.
Once again, Lin and her team found cases of burnout or negative emotions preceded abuse. But almost an equal number of supervisors reported purposely yelling at or dressing down subordinates—not to vent but to get them to perform or to reinforce their position as the leader.
When supervisors were burned out and yelled at their employees, they felt guilty or worse afterward. When supervisors were abusive to get employees to perform or to reinforce their leadership role, the bosses felt better afterward, as if they had accomplished something.
“If they engage in these behaviors with a goal in mind, like boosting compliance or preserving their identity as leaders, they’re satisfying an emotional need,” Lin says.
“If my followers have poor performance and I yell at them to increase compliance, then I feel like I achieved something in the short term. If I lash out because I’m tired, I won’t feel any satisfaction.”
Understanding why superiors lash out at subordinates can shape leadership training that businesses provide to new managers and could prevent abuse.
“It’s important for leaders to recognize they may have motivations for acting abusively to help them find better leadership tools,” Lin says. “You may want your followers to listen to you or you may want to make sure you establish your role as a leader. That’s fine, but there are other ways to achieve that.
“If you engage in abusive behaviors, it will always lead to negative outcomes. No one will be motivated at all. Leaders need to acknowledge this is happening if we want them to develop better tools and tactics.”
The research appears in the Journal of Management.
Source: University of Georgia
